Hisd magazine by Insight

INSIGHT

HISD teens covering HOUSTON MAY 2015

I wish my teacher knew... pages 19

Carnegie Vanguard receives top honors Pages 3

Influx settles in at Lee Pages 5

TPSP projects garners noteriety Page 14

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 2015-2016 CHRONICLE CLASSROOM

Around Houston

Student does mission work in India

Sister to Sistah helps teens

Reality of homelessness

Sports

Opinions

Rising seniors contact csmith@houstonisd.org for more information

INSIGHT Editor in chief Cindy Wakiyam

Online editors Elisabeth Gray Jaliyyah Hodge

Page Design Jarvis Dillard Photo Editor Guadalupe Rodriguez

Marycler Catalan Kymyatta Gabriel Helen Lu Laila McCutcheon Chris Melara Cristian Moralez

STAFF

Heaven Murphy Ixchel Perez Maria Ramirez Jezai Thomas-Arnic Maritza Xiloj

Adviser: Cynthia P. Smith

Carnegie ranks 9 in nation

Principal Ramon Moss says he is pleased with Carnegie Vanguard’s climb in the ranks of nationally recognized schools. Photo by Laila McCutcheon Carnegie Vanguard students and Ramon Moss chat during lunch. Photo by Elisabeth Gray

t began as a magnet program at Jones High School and later became an independent school with 178 students. Today Carnegie Vanguard High School has 600 Rhinos and was named the ninth most challenging high school in the nation by the Washington Post – two spots up from 2014. “About 13 years ago, the district and the board decided that the program, the Vanguard program was strong enough to survive on its own,” Principal Ramon Moss. Carnegie’s early days were rough, he recalled. Due to the strict budget, many faculty members had to wear many different hats. “Because of that, we were not fully staffed,” Moss said. “When I was hired as principal, several of us had to play additional roles. I had to go out and do my own magnet coordinating so I had to recruit at middle schools along with being the principal. So what does it take to be number nine? According to Moss, Carnegie has a dynamic faculty and staff who have a passion for instruction and a love for students that are able to keep the gifted and talented students interested and hungry to learn. “Our mission, first and foremost, is to educate our gifted and talented population and equip them with the skills so that they can exceed and excel in a global society,” Moss explained. “I think one thing that the teachers do here that would work with any students is really getting to know their students and personalize with them and allow students to incorporate their own interest into the learning process.” In order to keep students interested, Carnegie teachers have created a few unique classes such as, “1968” which teaches the events that happened that year, world wars, world religions, organic chemistry and math applications for engineering also known as “post-calc.” “We have a lot of kids who are advanced in specific subjects and so we frequently have kids who come into algebra 2 in their freshman year and so after I created pre-calc BC, a lot of them finished (AP) calculus BC their junior year and so post-calc was something that I decided was something that we needed,” said math teacher Stephanie Chen. “We have a huge population at Carnegie who want to become engineers in the future or whose parents are engineers and are interested in pursuing a similar course – so it seemed pretty natural to make that the topic of a post calculus class.” Moss said he wished Carnegie was larger - to be able to accomodate the demand for Carnegie’s program. Yearly, he said the school receives 1500 GT applicants - chosen to fill the 175 seats through a lottery system. Moss plans to continue to work at Carnegie as the programs grows. ““I would love to see our students continue to excel,” Moss said. “A lot of people still consider our program fairly new; thus we don’t have a very large alumni especially from those early years but in time, I would love to be able to say, these are the notable persons who graduated from Carnegie and they’re really in the spotlight now or they are doing great things.” Carnegie student and staff plan to celebrate – once end-of-year testing is done. “We will celebrate our most recent accomplishments – (including being named number two on the Children at Risk ranking and number six in the US News and World Report ranking),” Moss said. By Cindy Wakiyama LEE HIGH SCHOOL

Babak Far said he loves teaching about a government that brought him to the United States. Photo by Marycler Catalan.

Far grateful for move to United States By Marycler Catalan DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL

abak Far has being teaching at Davis High School for 14 years. He has taught World and U.S History for 19 years but he began teaching U.S. Government this school year. Teaching about a government that brought him to the United States has given Far a better understanding. His parents sent him to the United States at the age of 14 - through a student visa before the Iranian Revolution. For a while his parents were able to support him, however that changed as soon as the Revolution started. His father worked as an administrator for one of Iran’s largest private banks but was forced to retire as government nationalized all private banks after the Revolution. From that moment at the age of 15, Far was on his own. His first job included working as a dishwasher and busboy at the iconic west Houston restaurant The Great Caruso.

During the 1980s, he worked at different places as a waiter, doorman, valet parkerand pizza delivery driver. Far graduated from Sharpstown High School in 1981 and was one of the first students from a foreign country to be part of an HISD ESL program. “When I first came I could not speak one word of English,” Far recalled. He struggled to learn English. He would sit in the classroom without saying anything. “When I opened my biology textbook for the first time, I felt like I was alone swimming in an ocean. I was completely lost. All I could do was to keep my head above water and take the English language one word at a time,” he said. Far remembers one of his teachers with extreme fondness. She was a very kind and gentle English teacher, he said. “One day as she wrote on the board in cursive English, I went up to her and explained in my broken English that I had difficulty under-

standing what she was writing on the board. From then on, she stopped writing lessons in cursive and always walked to my desk and asked if I understood the directions on the board,” Far recalls. “I wish I could remember her name today to write to her and thank her for all she did for me.” According to Far, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 paved the way for him to enroll and pursue a university degree. “For that, I am grateful. I love teaching and working with students, and if for some reason I don’t get paid for teaching, I would still teach for free,” Far said with a smile.

Far estimates more than 3,000-plus students have taken his classes over 19 years of teaching at HISD schools. “It is not uncommon for me to run into my former students at a grocery store, restaurant or a park,” Far said. “It is a thrill for me to see my former students as productive members of society.”

Sent packing, students find home at Lee 5

ESL Teacher Garrett Reed has seen growth in students since they arrived at Lee. Photo by Cindy Wakiyama

n August many HISD schools saw an increase in student population due to a wave of unaccompanied minors who came to this side of the border last summer. About 300 of those students landed in classrooms at Lee High School. “At first, when I came to the school I didn’t know any English,” Guatemalan freshman P. Vasquez said. “I didn’t understand. I didn’t write. I couldn’t even read. But now I have learned to write more, read and speak. I am able to understand my classmates who speak English.” Vasquez is temporarily permitted to stay in the United States as a refugee. “For now I just want to make sure everything goes well in court because if I don’t take care of my (immigration) case, I can’t stay and I don’t know what will

happen to me,” she said. “I want to stay in this country so I can work and (send money to) help my mom.” According to ESL teacher Garrett Reed, around 40 of the 300 students are no longer in the school. Some returned to their country while others dropped out to work full time to pay for immigration lawyers. “It was difficult …under the stressful circumstances,” Reed said. “Living with someone who is not an immediate family member, adapting to the new culture, the new school and the uncertainty of their immigration status was a lot of pressure on these kids.” Despite the difficulties, those students have shown improvement in learning the language and developing in school. “It’s like any other group of kids, they’re really hungry to learn English,” Reed said. “They

really try hard. There was a small group of the kids who were (not going to school prior to moving to the United States). I’ve never had that many kids like that in my class before and they had an especially hard time.” This, by far, has been Reed’s most difficult year teching. “This was the most amazing (and) challenging year,” he said. “...dealing with just the dynamics of all these new kids and how to balance my class with kids who need a lot of intense work and kids who don’t. So I’m going to mark this in my journal, in my teaching career history, the most challenging year ever.”

By Cindy Wakiyama LEE HIGH SCHOOL

Alive & Well

spina bifidi: “a congenital defect of the spine in which part of the spinal cord and its meninges are exposed through a gap in the backbone. It often causes paralysis of the lower limbs, and sometimes mental handicap.”

make fun (of me),” she said. “They would make up stories at school and it just made me feel really low about myself because everyone else could walk, run and jump and I couldn’t.” Natalie kept her feelings inside and didn’t tell her mother about some bullies she faced at school. She recalled the time a substitute teacher made her run with Natalie Avilez, a senior at Lee High School, will receive her the rest of her class after repeatedly diploma May 31. Photo by Masaying she could not walk. ria Ramirez “I was crying because I was trying to run and because she yelled at me calling me a liar,” the teen By Maria Ramirez recalled. “I was in pain...” LEE HIGH SCHOOL Natalie said that even her classmates were the reasons behind her tears that day. rowing up in hospitals “A group of girls came up to became commonplace for senior me afterwards and laughed at me askNatalie Avilez. ing me why I ran like I was stupid,” Natalie was seven years she said. “They told me that no one old when doctors began to help her was ever going to like me because of understand she was different than the way I walked, that I was ugly and the other kids around her - different they were so much prettier than me.” because she had a spinal condition Her mother took her home called spina bifida. that day and never knew what hap Today, Natalie no longer has pened. to take her medication and she hasn’t “When my mom found out been hospitalized since March of that I had spina bifida, she was mad 2014. at the doctors,” Natalie said. “She “My mom used to take me believed that it was their fault.” to the doctor all the time, but I didn’t Natalie said that her mother realize what I had until one day in did not want to take her to the hospimy doctor’s office – a lady gave me a tal in Michoacán, Mexico any longer. speech about what spina bifida was,” They moved to the United States and the teen recalled. her mother began to teach Natalie At a young age, bullies nohow to walk. ticed that she had difficulty walking. “The doctor told me that I “A lot of people used to wouldn’t be able to walk...Natalie

said with a smile. “But look! Here I am - I can walk.” She has not had a surgery in months. “Because of the lack of folic acid, I had a hole where the end of my spine should have been. This could have made me mentally challenged. But thanks to Jesus, I wasn’t born mentally challenged and now I can walk now.” Natalie has had 23 surgeries done in the past seven years. “I thought it was all really unfair,” she said, “But now I know that there are a lot more people like me and that I am not alone.” When she was younger, she was mad at science and she was mad because she was born this way; but now that she is older, she understands science and has accepted the fact that she is different. She now embraces it. “I’m OK with having spina bifida,” Natalie said. “I’m OK with people walking different than me and I’m OK with taking medicine if I ever have to again.” This is where her faith comes in to play. “God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers,” Natalie said. “Going to the hospital all the time is not easy but God gives us those struggles because he thinks we can handle it.” Natalie will be attending Sam Houston State University to major in criminal justice. Her goal is to become either a crime scene investigator or a prosecuting attorney. This, she says, is a dream she wishes to fulfill for her dad.

Yoga Carnegie Vanguard High School now offers a new activity to enrich the school’s minds and bodies. With more than 14 years experience as a certified yoga instructor, Jocelyn Ellis, an English teacher at Carnegie, decided to begin offering yoga sessions to teachers and students. The yoga sessions are envisioned to provide a quiet, rejuvenating and stress-relieving exercise for the hard working students at the vanguard school. When the weather allows, the lessons take place on Carnegie’s rooftop. Ellis emphasizes the importance of having students take their minds off academics for a period of time. “We are bodies and not just brains. We are a gorgeous union of body, mind and spirit,”

Anyone

Ellis relays to participants. “Yoga lets you quiet your mind and develop focus.” Yoga practice takes place two times a week, an hour before school starts. One of the biggest struggles of the new club is gaining members and competing for the students’ time, many of whom stay up late doing homework and find it hard to wake up early. Ellis observes that yoga club members are especially dedicated - taking notice that everyone who stays in the club improves physically and mentally. The first apparent benefit is the improvement of posture through positions that strengthen muscles around the spine. The latter effects that she sees are benefits with self esteem and confidence. “As people get better at yoga, they learn that they can

By Helen Lu BELLAIRE HIGH SCHOOL

break barriers and exceed expectations,” she said. “It will let you discover that you can do things you never thought you could.” Oscar Sirias, a student participant, finds that doing yoga pays off in multiple ways. “Yoga helps me concentrate in my classes. I have learned that I can be consistent. It helps me believe in myself and in what my body and mind can do,” he said. “Yoga has taught me not to listen to my ego and allow my body to slowly change with time.” Ellis said she hopes to attract more members next year, so she can teach them to calm, what yoga instructors call, their “monkey minds.”

Bellaire teams tackle finance and win By Helen Lu BELLAIRE HIGH SCHOOL

This year’s Texas Personal Finance Chal-

lenge in Austin paid off for three Bellaire High School teams. They swept the competition, placing first, second and third and are now preparing for nationals. Each team in the competition took two individual tests and one group test. The top teams faced off by buzzing in answers to questions, exercising their quick-thinking skills. Bellaire economics teacher Micheal Clark has taught microeconomics and macroeconomics since 1992 at Bellaire. Last year, he led Bellaire’s team to win first place at the 2014 National Economics Challenge in New York City. This year, Clark has decided to tackle the Personal Finance Challenge instead, after a record of eight trips to New York City in his career for the Economics Challenge. “One of the major crises facing our country is a lack of knowledge of personal finance. I think it’s important that I take the lead on it,” Clark said. “Many people in America are living paycheck to paycheck even with salaries of $75,000 a year because they don’t know how to save.” Clark attributes part of Bellaire’s continued success to the students who believe that economics is the career for them.

However, Sophia Cen, a member of the firstplace team, believes Clark is the reason for the students’ interests. “Mr. Clark is one of the most competent teachers that I’ve ever had,” Cen said. “He constantly makes us go deeper than memorizing rules and formulas and makes class interesting by fostering friendly competitiveness with quiz bowl style tests.” Kenneth Yu, a team member preparing for nationals, remembers going to class during many lunches to do extra tests. He is looking forward to competing against more than 20 state champions at nationals in Kansas City. “I remember seeing the winning Bellaire team last year ringing the bell to close the New York Stock Exchange and I knew that I wanted to win nationals this year, although for a different Challenge, but for the feeling of honor,” Yu said. Clark sees a tough but promising road to success. “Some weeks we will spend 10-15 hours prepping. The week before the competition, it will probably go up to 20 . . . I know that they are going to do well,” he assures. Even without a national win, the economics team believes they have learned skills that will benefit them for a lifetime. Led by teacher Michael Clark, Bellaire economics teams hope to win nationals in Kansas City. Courtesy photo

Houston Art Alliance, permits from city parks and engi eight Boulevard is the host of a new art instalneering facilities and a great deal of funding. lation called “True South,” displaying the contemporary “Chris Silkwood raised the money for “True South” artwork of many Houston artists and promoting local art. within a week,” Kopriva said. “She found 15 people that Curators, Gus Kopriva and Chris Silkwood chose donated a grand each. Most of this money is for the artist. to undertake “True South” as a follow up project to “True We give each artist a $1,000 stipend.” North,” which displayed through February. These sculptures have received a very posi It took about four months to prepare True South, tive response. Districts all over Texas have requested to have Kopriva said. art displayed in their area. They will be removed from the “True South” includes the work of artists Tim Boulevard on December 5. Glover, Joe Barrington, Sharon Ko “My original vision was to priva, Emily Sloan, Hans Molzberghave at least 100 sculptures around er, Kermit Eisenhut, Tara Conley the city, Kopriva said. “The purpose and Mark Bradford. of art is to escape from the mun “Last year it was all local artdane. Adding art to the boulevard ists and this year in True South we gives people something to smile, are starting to spread it out,” Kopriva laugh or grimace at.” said. “We brought in artist from a Kopriva does not plan to teacher at HBU, Hans Molzberger, create another project; however, he and then we brought in Joe Barhopes that other artists will continue rington a great sculpture from North to beautify the city. Texas.” “True South” had to be approved by By Elisabeth Gray several entities such as the Houston CARNEGIE HIGH SCHOOL “True South” is on display through Dec. 5, 2015. Photo by Heights Association and the City of Elisabeth Gray

Rivers completes first film A

cup of ambition, a spoonful of creativity, a dash of teamwork and a whole lot of love is the recipe for a great movie. Matt Rivers, 17, had just the recipe needed when he created Die Alone, a short film he wrote, directed and starred in. Die Alone is a piece based on my personal experiences,” Rivers said. “I’ve experienced heartbreak and betrayal and I wanted to create something to express that in a positive way. Writing is almost like an outlet to me.” Most of the actors in the film were members of the theatre club debate team and students at J. Frank Dobie High School. “When picking my cast members, I just picked friends I knew would do the film (justice),” Rivers said. This work of art created a lot of

buzz around the halls of Dobie. The students were present in some scenes and were ready to see the finished product. “I remember one scene in particular, the fight scene,” actor Dimitri Brooks said. “Mateo (Matt) slammed me and it was an array of reactions. Some were like ‘whoa’ and others were like “what the heck is going on?’ We had to explain to them that that was apart of the script.” Whether it was in front of or behind, Rivers always loved cameras. “When I was like five, my mom enrolled me in acting classes,” he said. “Before you knew it, I was doing commercials for local businesses and stores like H-E-B. My parents have been my biggest supporters. Without them I would be nothing.”

By Heaven Murphy WORTHING HIGH SCHOOL

Die Alone was just his first project. Rivers is working on his next project which he plans to debut in the spring of 2016. To view Die Alone, go to www.YouTube.com and search for Die Alone - Act I-III.

Matt Rivers (l) and Dimitra Brooks (r) play are best friends/brothers in Die Alone.Photo by Heaven Murphy

Twins share the stage A time as dual valedictorians to Save

Carnegie senior makes impact in India

As part of a mission trip to India, Abby Govindan delivered toys to sick children in India. Courtesy Photo By Elisabeth Gray CARNEGIE HIGH SCHOOL

exas Children’s Hospital is reaching out to children in India by giving medical expertise and procedures to children who cannot afford the operations they need. Carnegie Vanguard High School senior Abby Govindan recently returned from the medical mission trip with Texas Children’s Hospital. “I have known for a while that I want to be a doctor and I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to attend a week-long medical mission trip to India,” Govindan said. “Initially there was a problem getting it cleared with administration, but I got it cleared up. I was able to go and do what I want to pursue as a career.” In order to prepare for the mission trip, Govindan started a toy drive at Carnegie. She took the toys to more than 240 toys to the children in India. “The job that I was assigned is what people in the United States call child life,” the senior explained. “In this job, you go in before

a procedure and after a procedure to help alleviate the tension and make sure they are happy - not as nervous - and just make sure that the child is doing OK.” The crew of doctors and aides were presented with 60 cases, but they were only able to operate on 55 of them due to their lack of materials and time constraints. “Just knowing that you impacted that many lives is so rewarding in and of itself,” Govindan said. “These people - the reason that we operate on them is because they couldn’t afford the operation themselves. They had to wait up to a year in some cases for us to come and help them. Knowing that they finally got what they waited for long for and knowing that I was part of making that happen was the most rewarding part of the experience.” The doctors that helped are the top in their fields and have worked professionally at Texas Children’s Hospital for years. Doctor Pimpalwar Ashwin, who headed the mission trip, grew up in Nagpur, India. He left because he knew there

was more opportunity in the United States, but felt like he owed something to his hometown. He has been planning the trip for about five years. “I learned that you shouldn’t take anything that you have for granted,” Govindan said. “It is an out of sight out of mind kind of thing. You are not aware of their existence and how they live until you go there and see it for yourself.”

Mom in Charge: Arsenyuk helps teen moms By Ixchel Perez Lee High School Four days after Emely Arsenyuk’s 17th birthday, she found out she was pregnant. She considered alternatives - for a brief moment. “The consideration was fleeting,” Arsenyuk admits. “The idea occurred to me, I considered it for a moment, then I rejected it, and I never again thought about it after that moment.” Only a year way from being considered an adult, she would soon sport the title of mother. Her teen years were tossed away, along with the fourth pregnancy test she bought while her mother was asleep. “I had a lot of support from my parents, once I had Grace, but my parents were not happy with me in the beginning,” she said. “They helped with childcare while I was in school or at work, which was huge and I’m very grateful for that.” She managed to graduate from high school a semester early and went to college with a child in her arms. Restricted by a tight budget, at times, she would have to miss class because of an empty tank and miss meals so she and Grace would be fed at least three meals a day. “I realized that, without this

degree, I’d never go anywhere in life, with or without gas,” Arsenyuk said. “There were times, several in fact, when I went without dinner so that Grace could eat. I can remember eating canned corn for dinner after she went to bed, I would stand in the kitchen crying.” Having a child at a young age was not a mistake, but a blessing; nonetheless, Arsenyuk says she wishes that she could have given her baby the life that she deserved. Her biggest motivation was to give her daughter a normal childhood. “I have felt complete and happy every day since October 3, 2000, the day Grace was born,” said Arsenyuk. “If I could go back in time, knowing what I know now, I would wait and have the same kid after I finished everything - for her sake. I was not the only one struggling all these years; Grace endured all the bumps in the road that I did, even more.” Everything paid off when she graduated from college with her master’s degree, the degree that she and her daughter both fought for.

All the struggles she had to face and all the obstacles she overcame taught her the values of a caring mother. “It is vital for kids to understand that, once you have a child, life is no longer about you,” said Arsenyuk. “You no longer exist as a singular entity; you are now someone’s mother or father. Your life is no longer yours. It no longer revolves around just you and what you want or what you don’t want. Once you bring life into this world, every single decision you make is for your child.” Today, Arsenyuk inspires other teenage mothers who are facing the same struggles that she faces. “Ask for help when you need it; don’t be afraid to accept help when it’s offered and make yourself proud, because now you have someone who will be looking at you with stars in his or her eyes” She hopes to initiate a support program for teen mothers in the future. “Every time I see a teen mom, I smile to myself, not because she’s pregnant, but because she’s in school. I see a strong, capable woman who is already making the right decisions,” the Lee High School teacher said. “I’ve thought about opening some kind of support group or daycare or even an online community.

“I felt complete the day I walked the stage with my master’s degree and knew that I had done it. I worked hard and showed my little girl that with hard work and dedication, anything can be done,” said Arsenyuk.

akia Cooper, then a college student who was in an abusive relationship, often remembers what a Nordstrom salesperson once told her. “This will all be over soon,” Larry Fasbinder said to her. “It wasn’t easy,” said Cooper, now senior web/editor producer at KPRC. But that quote kept Cooper motivated enough to help her get out of the abusive relationship. Today she helps other girls through the Sister to Sistah Foundation she founded, along with Rebecca Briscoe of Houston Style Magazine. For their first event, Sister to Sistah held a gala for 11 lucky girls. “This was a very private event that the girls attended and shared their stories,” Cooper said. The girls that were chosen were told to meet at a location, wearing all-white attire. They were then picked up by a limo and taken to the dinner party. “These girls’ lives were

per realized that there were many women facing the same issues as she had. “I had no idea that all of this would fall into place like this,” she said. “The more I talked to girls, I began to realize that there were so many girls that needed someone like me - just like I needed someone to help me out.” Cooper said her experience made her stronger and that has helped her become a better mentor to the young ladies in Sister to Sistah. “Any and everything has a cycle,” Cooper said. “Happiness doesn’t last forever, because you sometimes have up and downs. Sadness doesn’t last forever. Boyfriends don’t last forever most of the time. We are working towards having more ups than downs but God didn’t put you here to struggle all your life. Someall black and blue prior to this which is why I choose for them to wear all white,” Cooper said. “I times he gives you a few spankings and stripped all of that! This is about life and love and life lessons but he is a loving God.” all of that. In the original stage play, For Colored Nakia Girls, everybody was a lady in black, lady in blue Cooper or lady in purple, which all signified a different with Rebecca emotion. Today when people think of black they Briscoe think of dark and dreary but when we think of and TSU’s white we think of fresh and a breather and I just first lady wanted them to be a burst of energy and bright. Dr. Docia Rudley. “This was a beginning, a fresh start for Courtesy these girls.” Photos Sister to Sistah was started because Coo-

Sister to Sistah inspires girls to reach new heights

The American Dream H

e won a visa lottery to come to the United States and he could not have been happier. Olawale Moyosore, of Nigeria, knew this was a new and better beginning for he and his family. “I knew I was going to have to start all over again, but I was prepared to do whatever it took for my family,” said Moyosore. Moyosore struggled to find the money to request the visa and come to the US but finally did so in 2000. He had to leave his wife and children behind. “It was hard at the beginning because I couldn’t find a job, but that never killed my hopes of succeeding in this country,” he said. He left New York and moved to Houston in pursuit of a job and new opportunities. His wife Titilayo Moyosore came to join him first. “It hurt me to leave my children behind but I had to because I didn’t want them to suffer as we were going to have to,”

the patriarch said. At first they settled at a family friend’s house but after he was a able to find a job as a night stocker at H.E.B. they were able to move out and get their own apartment. “It was hard to get to work because I didn’t have a car but I had great coworkers and friend that offered

to help me out.” In 2003, they bought a house after Titilayo got a job at Fiesta. Moyosore had an accounting degree

Seven students from Westbury

High School worked together to participate in the prestigious Vans Custom Culture contest. Joel Arredondo, Miguel Arredondo, Johnlee Chukwu, Cristian Garcia, Jailen Mendez, Silvester Laguna, and Klo Lay Pla are among the 200 teams vying for the grand prize of $50,000 for their high school art program. Amanda Fuchs Day, their art teacher, said the participation in the contest would increase recognition of the school and of its students’ creativity. “I want the school’s art project to

be shown and let the school be recognized,” Day said. “Our group is special for its diverse set of students; this has (made) us more unique as a team with a variety of ideas.” However Day noted that the money would also help the art department which is struggling from lack of funding. “The money would come in great help for our arts department,” Day said. “We haven’t received money for our arts program and the money will help pay for supplies. Senior and designer of the local flavor Van shoe, Silvester Laguna, said this competition can make a dream of his come true. “If we win this contest, the reward can help us out,” Laguna said. “I want to invest my portion of the money towards a studio and to open a busi-

By Maritza Xiloj FURR HIGH SCHOOL

which was not recognized in the US. Because he desperately needed a stable job he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army and pursue a career in nursing. “I wanted a career that I know I would be able to make a lot of money in and I knew the medical field was the way to go,” he said Once he gathered enough money, he was able to send for his children. “We were very happy to finally see our parents again after all these years,” former Furr student Oladipo Moyosore said. “My dad always told me there is no success story if you are not ready to put in the hard work.” Moyosore’s other children, Olan and Bukola attend Furr High School and Ryan Baylor School of Medicine respectively. Oladipo Moyosore, who now attends Stephen F. Austin University said he now feels like his family has achieved the American Dream. His father has since graduated nursing school and is now a registered nurse at the VA Hospital for veterans.

Westbury team create Vans

By Cristian Moralez LEE HIGH SCHOOL

ness.” Jailen Mendez (the only female in group) helped design the action sports shoe. The shoe includes a skateboarding ramp inside of it meant to draw attention to the popular sport. “Art is really important for me; I helped paint the outside words of the shoe that gave color,” Mendez said. “If I receive any money, I would use it for college.” Another important member of the seven is Klo Lay Pla, a talented young man whose art pieces have not only been recognized by the Vans contest but have also been honored at the Earth Day Houston arts contest. “I wasn’t amazed we were selected,” Pla said. “We all worked hard for this as a team,” he said. Winners will be announced June 9.

Tim Craig’s marsh planting day in Galveston. For his project, he grouped students together in order to replant some of the lost grass. Courtesy Photo

TPSP

By Elisabeth Gray CARNEGIE HIGH SCHOOL

uring the spring semester, the juniors at Carnegie Vanguard High School prepare to present their Texas Performance Standards Project (TPSP) to a panel of judges. The TPSP class gives students the opportunity to research a topic they are passionate about, create a product to solve a problem that they discovered during their research and present their work to a panel of judges that are professionals in that field. Teacher Heather Hill has taught TPSP for three years and loves to see the incredible projects that student produce. “My favorite thing about the class is that it is so student driven,” Hill said. “The kids have complete control over the choice of their topic and how far they want to take it.” Throughout the year, the students find a mentor that has experience or is a professional in the field that they are researching. While they are researching,

they identify problems or questions that exist in that field. Finally, they design a product to help answer that question or solve that problem. Then they present everything to a panel of judges at the end of the year. “My least favorite thing, honestly coming off of the two weeks of presentations now, is being here so late at night for the presentations,” Hill said. “However, I think the experience of the student actually presenting is incredibly important and I wouldn’t take that away for anything.” The school is transitioning from TPSP to a program called AP Capstone. This year there were two classes of sophomores in a class called AP seminars. AP seminars is the sophomore year program and AP research is the junior year program. AP research is much stronger on the research side of it. Starting next year, all of the sophomores will be in AP seminars. “Next year we will figure out how to make AP Research work with TPSP because I am not going to drop the product component,” Hill said. “I think the students need to have that option.”

This unique program gives students the opportunity to develop skills that are necessary for adults and can be applied to any career. “Whether they go into the military, whether they go into college and become a professor, any kind of approach to any career that they want to strive towards - there is a research component,” Hill said. “There is a component that gets covered in TPSP and AP Capstone. How to write business letters? How to prepare for an official professional presentation to a panel of judges? Those are all skills that are necessary to be taught.” Over the years, students have presented impressive work. “My first year, David Babb really surprised me,” Hill said. “His initial idea was not good. His product was about water filtration and he wanted to just hand out water bottles with labels that informed people about the different types of water. He and his mentor designed a water filtration system. One of the judges on his panel was basically doing what he was trying to do and took his idea back with him to his own work.”

PSP has been praised statewide for the way in which it gives students the opportunity to pursue their passions alongside their schoolwork. “...the moments when kids have no expectations and they accomplish something truly amazing,” Hill said. “They get so excited and it is why I love teaching this class.” Junior Mackenzie Aden created an art gallery for her project. It focused on correcting the perception of homelessness, specifically in teens and young adults’ minds. “Once I realized that people didn’t have the same perceptions of homelessness that I have and they thought of them as dirty beggars on the street, I wanted to fix that,” Aden said. “I think it will increase the help that they get, especially donations which is something that a lot of private and public resources rely on to house, feed and clothe people.” Aden’s art gallery showcased the reality of homelessness in direct comparison to the media representation. There were three sections in the art gallery: media’s representation of homelessness, a teen’s interpretation of homelessness and the reality of homelessness. The media representation came from several Houston photographers. They donated some of their art to be sold with all of the profits going

REALITY: A mother and son at Star of Hope.

to Star of Hope. The teen’s interpretation of homelessness were photos taken by CVHS student Zoe Herring. It focused on teens dressed up as how they perceive homelessness; the reality pictures were given by the Star of Hope PR director Scott Arthur. “The media representations truly looked ridiculous when you looked at these photos of families and you compared them to families that are housed in the Star of hope transitional living centers.” Aden said. The gallery raised nearly $1500. Aden also wrote a Texas Joint resolution that advocates for the education of homeless people and the resources that are available to them. That joint resolution aims to distribute an educational pamphlet that lists all of the resources private and public by region of Texas starting in 2016. She also created an educational course for police that deal with chronic homelessness - a more aggressive set of homeless people who attempt to be arrested in order to have a place to stay, warm meals and free housing. Hill said she was extremely impressed by

Aden’s project. “Her project was amazing because she just took it so far,” Hill said. “She had so many different components to it. Normally students just have one component and that in itself is pretty impressive. This just showed that she is truly passionate about her topic.”

Reality homelessness Junior Mackenzie Aden’s project aimed to educate teens and young adults about the reality of homelessless through art. Her charity Hobo Chic raised $1,500 for Star of Hope. Photo by Zoe Herring

16 By Ixchel Perez LEE HIGH SCHOOL

rick Hernandez’s mother has cancer. She doesn’t smoke and it’s not hereditary. He has watched her struggle before her diagnosis; and he has seen her go without. “There were days when she didn’t eat. She gave my sisters and me her plate of food. She did anything and everything to make sure that we ate at least twice a day.” When he was seven years old, Hernandez’ father was deported. His family left everything behind so they could live next to himback in their country. “My mother decided to go live with my dad,” he said. “She wanted us to be a family so we left to Mexico.” Years later, circumstances forced the family to come back to the United States since life in their country was very difficult. Weeks after coming back, Hernandez’s father walked out on the

Teen hopes scholarship pays big dividends

family. “My dad was never there for us,” said Hernandez. “When he left, I did not feel any different. All the money he ever made was for himself. My mother always had to provide for us. She played both roles.” During this time, his mother was his only support system. “I live in a one-bedroom apartment with six other people,” said Hernandez. “My mother has slept on the floor for seven years now. I do not know what it is like to have my own room or even my own bed.” It was not until he got to middle school when he realized that he was part of a low-income family. “When I realized that I came from a poor family, it made me feel a little embarrassed to have to ride a bus to school because my mother could never afford to buy car,” he said. “I saw all the other students get dropped off by their parents in their brand new cars.” Yet he did not allow for money to be his first priority; instead, he focused in school because he knew

that school would be his only way out of his current situation. “I felt like I did not fit in at that school because I was surrounded by rich kids,” said Hernandez. “My family was very poor yet I was not jealous of what they had. In fact, it motivated me to one day be as successful as their parents. My goal is to take my family out of poverty.” His mission is to make sure his family wants for nothing, the teen said. Hernandez, a student at Challenge Early College High School, focused and it paid off. He received a full-ride scholarship to attend Texas A&M University in the Fall. “I will never forget the day when I got the call that changed my life-when I was told that I was a (POSSE) Scholar. I cried because I knew that without that scholarship my dreams of going to college would have never been possible,” he said with tears in his eyes. The last time Hernandez spoke to his father was almost a year ago. His mother is battling thyroid cancer; yet he holds tight to his future. “I will attend Texas A&M and I hope to become a structure engineer,” he said. “When I reach my goals, I plan on coming back to my community and help out the children who face the same struggles.” Hernandez admits that after all he has been through, he stands firm because God has helped him throughout his struggles. “February 2010, I started my journey of getting closer to God,” he said with a smile. “The journey might be hard but the reward will be greater.”

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: A movie for everyone

Olivia Cooke as “Rachel,” Thomas Mann as “Greg,” and RJ Cyler as Earl in ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL. Photo by Anne Marie Fox

funny coming-of-age story with cancer, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Protagonist Greg spends his time with best friend Earl, whom he calls his ‘co-worker.’ Gregs grows up quickly when his mother forces him to spend time with Rachel who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

“The movie will be a little bit nostalgic for older audiences,” Indian Paintbrush founder and producer Steven Rales said. “I think they will remember the challenges and complexities of what Greg is going through and the kinds of friendships that have a lasting influence on you. For younger audiences, it can be a reminder that there’s hope in the midst of all the chaos. It’s a time to make meaningful friendships that can be everlasting.” Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon lost his father around the time he was introduced to the idea of the movie. “This is a film that I consider my first personal movie because there was an entirely different experience going into it,” said Gomez-Rejon in a recent interview. “You’re trying to work on something personally that you’re going through and you want to learn something and hopefully come out a different person, a better person and a stronger person by the end of the film.” Unlike most films one sees on

By Cindy Wakiyama LEE HIGH SCHOOL

theaters today, this did not have millions set in its budget. “You have to be surgical in how you shoot. Like in high school sequences, I fell in love with that high school but it was enormous and it had been abandoned for about five, six years. We couldn’t afford to dress the entire high school or clean the entire high school… It just forces you to be more, as Scorsese calls it ‘a director, not a selector.’” Those who got involved in this indie film did not take part because of the paycheck. “We all knew we’d never get a chance to make another movie like it,” producer Jeremy Dawson said. “Jesse wrote a tremendous script that attracted all this great talent, both above and below the line. It’s a heartwarming story that people identify with. It has characters that are individual and unique. It speaks to something important. Projects like this don’t come along very often.” Me and Earl and the Dying Girl comes to theaters on June 12.

Insidious: Chapter 3 in Actress Stefani Scott made a theaters June 5 By Cindy Wakiyama LEE HIGH SCHOOL

stop in Houston to promote her movie Insidious: Chapter 3. The movie will give fans a deeper look into the franchise’s veteran character Elise who communicates with the other world. “We learn more about Elise’s personal life,” writer and director Leigh Whannell said. “These ideas were exciting, because character and story are what matter to me.” The prequel follows teen Quinn Brenner played by Scott and her family as they deal with the loss her mother. Quinn seeks Elise to help her contact her mother which opened this world to the threat of entities from The Further. Scott and her on-screen father Dermot Mulroney are new to horror movies, but she did not shy away from trying to perform stunts of her own. “(She) wanted to do as many stunts as possible,” stunt coordinator Mark Rayner said. “Given what was called for in Leigh’s script, we knew we

would need several stunt doubles for her over the course of the shoot – and, for one scene, three stunt dummies. But, in rehearsals, we worked at figuring out certain pieces of action that Stefanie could get to do herself.” Whannell focused on making the scenes more realistic. “It makes it stand out so much plus I just love how everything can be done in real time and not as much rely on computers,” Scott said in a recent interview. “And I think it makes it 10 times scarier knowing that the whole film is set up on really long shots so we don’t cut away to somebody popping out at you, it’s all done in real time.” The director also developed ways to get authentic reactions out of the actors. “(He) locked me in a closet and forced me to listen to Swedish death metal for like an hour before the possession scene,” Scott said with a laugh. “It was

really intense. …(He) loved to terrify me on set by doing pranks and air horns and hiding places and hiding the demons (in) places without telling me to get a really genuine reaction, it’s crazy. “I’m really excited for the fans of Insidious to see how certain gadgets

and stuff were created through this movie,” the actress said. “(Yet) it makes complete sense if you haven’t seen the first two; this movie stands alone really well on its own but for the die-hard fans, it’s really cool how it ties it all together.”

Pineda and Castro are Madison’s POWER couple

Luis Pineda is Madison’s valedictoria and his girlfriend Idalia Castro is salutatorian. Courtesy Photos

By Jezai Arnic-Thomas Madison High School

They have known each other since elementary school- the 5th grade to be exact. Both Madison High School students admit they did not like each other at first. Fast forward seven years, Luis Pineda and Idalia Castro are a power couple - in that they will represent the school as valedictorian and salutatorian respectively. “Back in seventh grade, we started to perform in the same music class,” Castro said, sharing a laugh with Pineda. “Oh my God! We will not talk about that!” Pineda interjected. “Ms. Rose told the guys to set up the pianos. Luis and two other guys would fight to set up mine,” Castro recalled. “And I always won,” Pineda bragged. As long as the pair has known each other, they’ve always been told they’d make a cute couple. “Even before we were together, people always made comments about how cute we look together. I guess we just naturally complement each other,”Pineda said as he winked at Castro. Castro and Pineda worked together on the Energy City project, a competitive project for a scholarship. That ended up bringing them closer together. “That day sparked everything!” Pineda said smiling. “I cut myself on accident and the little thing chased me around the room trying to put hand sanitizer on me.” Pineda wanted it to be special when he officially asked Castro to date him. “I arrived at the Coronation Ball with flowers to be her escort. She looked stunning dressed up in her gown and her Ms. Magnet sash,” Pineda reminisced. But Castro had different plans.

“ I didn’t want him to be my escort!” Castro recalls. “Since he escorted me for the homecoming, I thought it was a burden for him to escort me at the coronation ball so I asked Ms. Torres to switch him out.” That did not sit well with Pineda. “I was hurt,” the valedictorian said. ”I had to fight to be her escort. So they had her locked up in a room in the back. She was all crying because they didn’t have something she needed and here I come, walking in with the roses. She immediately started blushing and I knew I had her. She made me get on one knee to recite the poem I wrote for her. Idalia is the first person I ever got on one knee for…and she is the last.” Many wonder if there was a competition between the two. Castro jokes that he bullied her while Pineda says he didn’t see it as a competition. “I did my best and worked my butt off no matter what. I wanted her to succeed as well because she deserves it. She works really hard and that’s one of the things I admire about her,” he said. Castro added, “After the ranking ceremony, I figured the numbers don’t mean anything. After we get into the college we want, the rank is trash because we start all over anyway.” The duo does plan to attend University of Texas at Austin in the fall. “I’ve known Luis and Idalia for three years,” biology teacher Amanda Torres said. “I could tell they would end up together. It was a ‘thin line between love and hate.’ “They really build upon each other in that Luis supports Idalia and her family issues and Idalia is making Luis less cocky,” she said with a smile. Pineda and Castro will deliver commencement speeches on May 30.

By Laila McCutcheon CARNEGIE HIGH SCHOOL What are students dying to tell their teachers? What’s the one thing they want them to know but teachers haven’t asked. In recent months, a Colorado third-grade teacher Kyle Schwartz wanted to get to know her students better. So, she drummed up an assignment that had them answer the prompt, “I wish my teacher knew…”. Like Schwartz, some teachers feel such an exercise would allow them to know what students are thinking. “I think it will help us understand the students. I think it helps bridge the gap,” Lee High School teacher Aerin McQuiggin said. One teacher said, “I wish my students knew how much time I spend on my job and them and how much of my life I devote to my students.” Several high school students were asked the same question and here are some of the responses.

“I wish my teacher knew that I have two brothers and a sister to take care of along with my responsibilities I work hard and try my best to be on time.” “I wish my teacher knew how much God has blessed me through her.” “I wish my teaching you that I was a gay student and that I expect to be treated equally but the administration has treated me unfairly.” “I wish my teaching you about the struggles I have at home and of the trouble I have as a young adult. I see teachers presume that since we are just young that we did not go through anything important. I wish my teacher knew that we are struggling family very close to losing our home. Yet they would never know because I keep this hidden.” “I wish my teacher knew what I deal with that home which is why my temper is so short.”

“I wish

Teacher knew...”

“I wish my teaching you that being mean won’t help me learn any faster.” “I wish my teaching you how to be more considerate towards their students. Believe it or not, teens go through a lot, inside and outside of school.” “I wish my teachers knew how much their effort is actually appreciated.” “I wish my teacher knew that I used to enjoy school with a lot of passion, but teachers take it away.” “I wish my teacher knew that I can’t do 40 pages of homework when I have seven other classes.” “I wish my teacher knew what goes on in school when teachers are not there.” “I wish my teacher knew that I really think my fellow students are disrespectful, though I have no hard feelings of them. I also wish my teacher knew that I don’t really enjoy sitting in a disorganized class with students who talk unnecessarily, students who use bad language, and also students that show total lack of respect for the teacher, themselves and other students. The greatest thing that I wish my teacher knew is that I hate it when students refuse to do what they are told cause it really hurts me.” “I wish my teaching you how bad I want my future to be bright. I want to be a better person then I’ve been before.”

Lamar track race their way to UIL State o

n your mark. Get set. Pow! Those are the words are that the Lamar High School boys varsity track team can’t wait to hear before they leave their competition in the dust. Head boys track coach Tyrone Green pushes his boys so that they can be the best they can be and blames the success of the team on the coaching, community and the commitment. “Thanks to the coaches and the support of the community as well as the commitment from parents, the team is successful,” Green said. “It’s also because of the runners coming to practice, listening and being great team players that we have been doing exceptional this track season.” Green pushes his runners because he knows their capable of doing things they think they can’t. “To the kids, I might be pretty tough because I push them really hard,” Green said. “They’re

young and energetic so I know what they can do. I tell them not to be scared to sweat a little bit.” The majority of the team are freshmen and sophomores, so Green has a few years to work and train his runners to be the best they can be. “Most of the team are young and have a bright future ahead of them,” Coach Green said. “They’re so charismatic so I can’t wait to see what happens in these next few years to come Sophomore Caleb Jolivette has seen improvements from last year’s to this year’s team. “Last year we had a pretty decent team, but I think this year we’ve become stronger,” Jolivette said. “We have strong team members and people who the coaches can build around. We have a great overall team.” Jolivettte said that preparation is the key to being a great runner individually and as a team. To him, hard work and dedication is the most

Lamar senior Tyreik Gray pushes to the finish line in the Boys 100 Meter Dash during the running finals of the 2015 Region III-6A Track & Field Championship at Crump Stadium in Alief on Saturday, May 2, 2015. Chronicle Photo

By Jarvis Dillard NORTH FOREST HIGH SCHOOL

important things in playing a sport. “I practice as hard as I can, whenever and however I can,” Jolivette said. “Hard work and dedication is all that it takes to be great. It was because of that attitude that landed me and my team a 40.9s time in the 4x100m Relay which put us sixth in the nation.” One of Jolivette’s 4x100m relay teammates freshman Ta’zhawn Henry didn’t see it difficult being on the varsity as a freshman. “It wasn’t hard being a freshman on varsity,” Henry said. “I’m just going to do my part, come and work hard and get the job done.” Henry didn’t start off at his best but was a quick study and learned the tricks of the trade and now sees the ending results of working hard. “I started off a little slow, but quickly picked it up by working hard,” Henry said. “And now I’m heading to state. It felt good to see our hard work pay off.”

Lamar’s relay team Ta’Zhawn Henry, Holton Hill, Caleb Jolivette and Tyreik Gray finished 4th at UIL State. They ran a 40.9. Gray was 4th in the 100; and Hill finished 5th in the 110-hurdles. Courtesy Photo

By Cristian Moralez LEE HIGH SCHOOL

Westside High School’s baseball team captured the district championship with a 15-1 run. The team, however, fell short in its bid for a state title. Hitting hard for the first round of playoffs, the wolves coach Michael Barrow relied on his team of men to go beyond district. “I love the team I work with,” Coach Barrow said. “We have one of the best teams this season. “These kids have been playing hard since they were little and it’s very competitive among these guys,” he

added. Winning state was every player’s motivation. “My ultimate achievement is being state champs,” senior Alex Kirupatrick said. “I set my goals one game at a time.” For Junior Quincy McAfee the best advice for the road of state was not to ever be intimidated. “Yes, never let your size change the way you play,” McAfee said. “My motto is day by day - get better.” Another outstanding junior is Brad Belk, who holds experience in every sport but excels in batting the ball. “My biggest accomplishments in any sport is winning,” Belk said. “I chase my fathers’ accom-

Westside baseball team misses run for state title plishments and the best advice was to do what you want.” Westside was knocked out of the playoffs after losing to CyFair in 3 games. Despite the loss, it was a successful season for Westside. The District 20-6A champs finished with a 23-8-2 record. Driven to succeed and coach ball until retirement, Coach Barrow enjoys his job and always wants to win. “I love my job. I have the best job ever,” Barrow said with a smile. “We have what it takes to be champions and I will coach until I die.”

Lee tries to rebound after lost season

Lee soccer team is looking to

rebound next season after a heartbreaking season. Believing they were a lock to win state, the generals went into their season with confidence – only to get knocked out of contention in the first round. “Our team made it to the state final last year and did not work as hard. That gave this year’s team that sense of entitlement,” Asst. coach Mario Carillo said. “So I think that them losing in the first round of playoffs this year brought them back to earth. Now they realize that they have the skills but they still have to work.” However not everything was lost. The six-year consecutive district champions were able to lose gracefully through the experience. “Honestly, I felt in order to win you need to learn how to lose. Sadly this was a bad occasion of losing

since it costs us our whole dreams,” player John Lacan said. “Anything can change in a minute. Most people think that a lot of things can’t happen in a minute, but it’s not really a minute, it’s a matter of seconds where the hopes of getting far all of a sudden just crash in front of you. And you’re in shock and just can’t believe that it has happened.” Captain Flavio Torres will forever take this loss as motivation to move forward and to always give more than 100 percent. “We got too confident - there was 16 seconds left. We thought we had the game. We were winning 1-0 and we thought that the game was ours,” Torres said. “You can’t stop playing until the game is over. It doesn’t matter if it’s second or minutes.” After losing like that, the Lee soccer team has been able to rethink the value of hard work and the value of time. “They learned a little bit of

By Guadalupe Rodriguez LEE HIGH SCHOOL

humility; they all felt they were way better than Magnolia High School and the better team lost. That happens when you don’t push yourself and your abilities,” Carrillo said. “They could have made three. four or five goals and then it wouldn’t have mattered what the ref did. That was a lesson they should have learned years ago.”

Lee’s Flavio

Torres in action against Cypress Creek. Chronicle Photo

Proud to be a Lee graduate By Cindy Wakiyama LEE HIGH SCHOOL

hey told me I would be raped and pregnant and in a gang when I asked them about Lee High School. I moved to Houston one month before my middle school graduation. I knew nothing about the surrounding schools. I knew that they were obviously exaggerated depictions of the high school. But my 13-year-old mind still feared for my safety. During my first week of high school, I saw a few pregnant girls, but what school nowadays doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have pregnant teens? Some students in my classes made fun of me for raising my hands and answering questions, but I was determined not to let them get to me. I finished my freshman year with a 4.0. Today with a more mature mind and four years of experience, I can see Lee High School much clearer. For each gang member and pothead, there are a handful of students who have dreams of studying journalism at Columbia or petroleum engineering at MIT. Lee students suffer from a lack of encouragement from their parents and community, something that many teachers and counselors try to compensate in pep talks. Since so many of our students come from immigrant families with parents who work minimum wage jobs, they are encouraged to work instead of going to school to help their families. Many students work to hand over their paychecks to their parents. They are not given the luxury of having hopes and dreams like I do. I have met many students who lack motivation in their school work either because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe they can have a future beyond unskilled jobs or because as they were learning English, teachers called them stupid and said they would not graduate high school. On the flip side, there are students who have convinced their parents to support their decision to go to college and are preparing to take the responsibility of becoming full-time college students while working to afford their education. This year, the Lee UIL academic team received the most awards in Lee history because for the first time we were given a principal who supported our brainiacs. He came to most competitions and cheered us on. We also have a high number of students going to colleges such as UT, A&M, UH, Sam Houston, HBU, Prairie View A&M and others who have received various scholarships. There is more to Lee than just soccer, just give us a chance.

Contratulations

Houston Chronicle

Class 2015

Baylor bound...

Carrying a box of my sister’s

clothing up to her small dorm room at Texas A&M, I realized how much would change when I went to college. I would be alone with completely new people, a new place, a new set of rules and a ton of work. I would have to leave behind my old life and start a new one. It seemed like a huge burden or maybe that was just the weight of the box. Now that the time has come for me to go to college, I have realized the change is not so drastic. Thanks to my parents forcing more responsibilities on me, I actually feel like I could survive on my own. But to my mother, turning

23 By Laila McCutcheon CARNEGIE HIGH SCHOOL

18 and living on my own means almost nothing. She is determined to still know exactly what is going on in my life - 18 is just another number to her - I will always be her child and her responsibility.. However, some of my friends have had very different experiences. One has recently moved out of her parents’ home and the other is being forced to only apply to University of Houston to be close to home. Moving out of her father’s house was a huge step for her. She wanted to escape her current environment and make her own decisions. That friend is applying only to out-of-state colleges - to be far away from home.

Another friend was only allowed to apply to one college-University of Houston. Her mom was only willing to support her because she wanted to make sure her daughter was on task. From one extreme to another, the transition from high school to college is very stressful and problematic for both children and parents-just as any transfer of power is.

become a viral jackpot. We always hear “thanks to technology” we can share opinions, pictures, videos, ideas and even our friends. We also hear that sharing is good, but it has its pitfalls. Shared information will never be private if spread on the Internet. Any information spread or shared on the Internet can be compromised and misused. Thus the only person you can trust online is yourself. Information posted or shared online exists on the network forever and can always be a liability. Before hitting send or uploading a post, consider the following tips from Houston Chronicle reporter Syd Kearney: *“Say it to yourself. Conception and perception plays a vital

role. *Just think, “What this post says about me.” Always remember what a specific post says about you. It could be embarrassing and also detrimental to your future. *You don’t know what you will become. Some things may come back to haunt you. *Be respectful and responsible. Some posts can be taken out of context and misconstrued. *Consider all aspects.”

Think before you post By Jaliyyah Hodge Westbury High School

Have your grandparents ever told you stories about how hard life was for them and how lucky our generation is? Technology is quickly separating us from our elders; our lives are more different than even their science fiction novels could imagine. The Internet is the epicenter of culture. You can learn just about anything and talk to just about anyone from the comfort of your own bedroom. Every day a simple google search expands my understanding of the world around me. In the age of social media, catching a person doing something embarrassing has